Needle bed for domestic knitting machines



NEEDLE BED FOR DOMESTIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed April 13, 1967 Hrrys.

United States Patent 3,446,040 NEEDLE BED FOR DOMESTIC KNITTING MACHINES Simeon H. Groom, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa, assignor to Empisal (Proprietary) Limited, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Republic of South Africa Filed Apr. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 630,625 Claims priority, application Republic of South Africa, Apr. 19, 1966, 66/2,258; Jan. 9, 1967, 67/110 Int. Cl. D04b 15/10 US. Cl. 66-115 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a needle-bed for a domestic knitting machine with an upper plate slotted to guide the butts of the sinkers, the plate is formed of two overlapped thicknesses of metal.

This invention relates to domestic knitting machines having needle beds of box form which provide guides for a series of sinkers or for a series of needles intercalated with the sinkers.

The beds of these machines are conventionally made of sheet material, and the guiding means for the sinkers or needles are a series of slots formed in the upper plate of the needle bed which slidably receive the butts of the sinkers or needels. The plate is flimsy and is easily damaged, and, if it is, replacement is necessary, which is a skilled and expensive job.

The object of the invention is to provide a needle bed which is constructed to be more rigid than is the conventional bed and which is therefore considerably more resistant to damage. In a development of the invention, the damaged upper plate can be replaced without difliculty and at small cost.

According to the invention, the needle bed is made of inverted channel form pressed from sheet metal, the top plate being formed with slots receiving the butts of a series of needles or sinkers, and being composed of two overlapped laminae of L-shape secured to each other, the free limbs of the laminae forming the sides of the bed and being apertured for passage of the needles or sinkers; and the means securing the laminae together being detachable for ready replacement of the upper lamina.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, which is a vertical section through the bed.

In the drawing the bed is composed of two L-shaped sections, 1 and 2 of pressed sheet metal, the limbs 4 and 5 being overlapped to form the top plate and secured together with screws 3, and the free limbs constituting the sides of the bed, which is thus of inverted channel form. The section 2 is of hard steel, and the lower of a softer material, such as mild steel, so that the upper lamina 4 is resistant to wear and, when it requires replacement, it can be readily and cheaply replaced by unscrewing the section 2 and replacing it with a new section. The free limbs of the sections are apertured to pass and guide the sinkers or needles 12.

I claim:

1. A needle bed for a domestic knitting machine of inverted channel form pressed from sheet metal, the top plate of the bed being formed with a series of parallel slots to guide the butts of a series of knitting instrumentalities and being composed of two overlapped laminae of L-shape secured to each other, the slots extending through the overlapped portion of the laminae, the free limbs of the laminae forming the sides of the bed and being apertured for passage of the knitting instrumentalities; and the means securing the laminae together being detachable for ready replacement of the upper lamina.

2. The needle bed claimed in claim 1, in which the upper lamina of the top plate is of hard steel and the lower lamina of mild steel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,719,418 10/1955 Yamada 66-115XR FOREIGN PATENTS 825,342 12/1959 Great Britain. 968,769 9/ 1964 Great Britain. 1,139,497 2/ 1957 France.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 66-60 

